Erpel “Erp” Garrett (1935-2026)
It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of Erp Garrett, our longtime school audiologist from 1962 to 2000, in February 2026. He was 90. He stayed in a living-assisted home in Banning for the last few years of his life. Erp arrived at CSDR as a new teacher from Illinois, where Dan Leinbach and Lynn Davidson had studied in the same teacher-training program. Erp was assigned to teach in JrHS. He soon began part-time extra duty evaluating students’ hearing threshold
2 days ago3 min read
Bummy Burstein (1926-2018)
Gerald Burstein, who went by his nickname “Bummy”. He was an ardent fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s. The MLB team later moved to Los Angeles in 1959. The Brooklyn fans were called “bums,” which explains why Bummy adopted his modified nickname. Many people didn't know his real name. His nickname took precedence over his legal name for social interaction. Bummy spent 37 years working at CSDR, starting in 1965 and retiring in 2002. Bummy explained that Dr. Brill s
Mar 174 min read
Fuel Pump Station on Campus
Note the sole pump at the receiving deck. The pump already looked weather-beaten from years of exposure to the elements. This photo was taken in the early 1970s. As a residential school, CSDR has had a fuel pump station since the early years. The school recognizes class field trips, sports games, and dorm trips as an integral part of the school experience for everybody. The parking lot is reserved for state vehicles and buses in the rear of the campus. CSDR has a special
Mar 142 min read
Speech Mirror
CSDR is approaching its 75th anniversary as a school in 2028. There have been many internal and external changes over the course of the years. One visible change is the disappearance of what I call “speech mirrors” from the campus-wide classrooms. Old timers remember the school placed an emphasis on speech training as part of the schoolwide curriculum from the Lower School through the Upper School, a process that could take 13-15 years. Every student was assigned two 20-minu
Mar 12 min read
The 1938 Riverside Map Reveals Surprise
Like a curious cat, I explored the 1938 Riverside map and made a discovery I didn't know existed. I love surprises. Before single-family houses were built on the Maude side, just west of the CSDR campus, there were only three unpaved streets: Maude, Jane, and Mary. And no sight of CSDR. Between Maude and Mary Streets, orange groves dominated the area. They were probably planted in the early 1900s. Later in the early 1950s, the developer bought the farmland and took down
Feb 252 min read
First Books for the New Library
As an archivist, I love surprises amid piles of undiscovered archival materials. It takes “digging” and examining each document. It is a time-consuming, yet necessary process. I have the patience of a saint. I came across the black book with no title. I opened it and found it to be an inventory book for library acquisitions. It was stored in the library office for decades and then transferred to the archives for preservation. The black book records the books purchased
Feb 202 min read
CSDR’s Medallion in Downtown Riverside
Riverside's History Walk on Main Street in downtown Riverside has an 18-inch circular step stone depicting CSDR in fingerspelling. How cool is that! I tip my hat to Keith Townsend (a retired teacher with 37 years of service at CSDR) for bringing the history sidewalk to my attention. I feel it is important to write an article about this exciting discovery. The History Walk features 33 commemorative stones that tell the story of the city's transformation from a frontier set
Feb 192 min read
